Just picked up an ICE HELIX 7

Mike,
Humminbird is sending me a new Helix 7 G3 and transducer. They did not tell me what is wrong with it though. Customer service was great.

AnotherFisherman wrote:

If you can, get a camera angle on your screen, I love watching both angler and unit! Clayton Schick Outdoors often uses this angle for reference. Would be cool to have that incorporated on an actual TV show too.

I agree with this 100% I enjoy watching the rod tip drop when the fish bites, but watching the chase on the graph is almost as entertaining to me; plus it helps educate other fisherman on the technique used to tease the fish into biting which at times is the biggest challenge!

James, why stop at the 7, you mentioned you just grabbed 2 helix 9’s, do a quick software update and the conversion kit from Hbird and you got a perfect ice fishing set up. I did this with my Helix 10 as I figured I spent that much on a “summer” graph, why the heck not get your money’s worth out of it and take it on the ice. I am powering this with the Amped 12ah battery and can fish all day if I keep the back light setting in mind. Really like what these units can do on the ice.

Attachments:

1. 

   Helix-10-ice.jpg
   

bigstick56 wrote:

James, why stop at the 7, you mentioned you just grabbed 2 helix 9’s, do a quick software update and the conversion kit from Hbird and you got a perfect ice fishing set up. I did this with my Helix 10 as I figured I spent that much on a “summer” graph, why the heck not get your money’s worth out of it and take it on the ice. I am powering this with the Amped 12ah battery and can fish all day if I keep the back light setting in mind. Really like what these units can do on the ice.

But does it fit into a bucket?

The comment about manually setting your lower range vs. Auto is spot on.

The screen seems to jump depths when on Auto

I have a old Lowrance 334 gps fishfinder and was set up for Ice fishing. I didn’t use it to often because battery would not last all day. The Lowrance has a setting to turn GPS off once you found your spot. That help the battery life .
I don’t know if Hummingbird has that option. But if it does that should save battery life one would think.

I’ve been using a graph on the ice for many years now starting with a HB 597. I’m currently on my 2nd season with a Helix 7 and love it!

The ice conversion kits are on Amazon for $198, $50 cheaper than in stores. It’s nice to get the most out of them by using year round.

Ok, I’ve gotta jump in on this too. I am in the market for a Helix 7 unit and am hoping I can get some insight here. I will try to lay some items out to help clarify what I am looking to do.

1. I will use this in the boat and will connect to my Terrova US2 transducer so I do not need a boat ducer.
a. I have a Helix 9 G2N SI MEGA already in the boat and use it for SI and for Autochart (AC)/lakemaster (LM) maps.

2. I will use the Helix 7 on the ice and want the ability to utilize the maps I have created via AC AND the LM card.
a. Can I utilize both of these cards (ZLC and LM) in one unit at the same time?
b. A lot of lakes I fish have zero mapping by LM so the ZLC/AC is the only option. I don’t want to have to swap cards all the time if I don’t have to though.

I think I can get by with a Helix 7 G2 or G3 with the ice ducer.

Royalfish

belletaine wrote:

I’ve been using a graph on the ice for many years now starting with a HB 597. I’m currently on my 2nd season with a Helix 7 and love it!

The ice conversion kits are on Amazon for $198, $50 cheaper than in stores. It’s nice to get the most out of them by using year round.

But you can make a far better shuttle and custom built to your needs for around $125 yourself!

I’m very happy with my Helix 7 as well. The only issues I have with it are already mentioned here, such as battery life/upgrade and the bottom jumping up/down in either really soft or really hard bottoms.

As far as the unit powering up inadvertently due to the tightness of the protective case, I’ve never had that happen when I leave the right side unzipped or half-zipped. The issue is much worse if the unit is tilted way up in the mounting bracket. Leaving it mostly vertical gets rid of the issue. There’s almost always a little slush that can be used to tilt the entire unit.

I have the Helix Ice7 G2 w/Dakota 10ah battery.
Got burned last Sunday with the case powering the unit up, was DOA when I got out on the lake.
The unit was charged prior, had something resting on it the by the back door the day prior ready to head out and powered it up.
I charged the battery and ran it to verify operation.
Left it run all day in the house with the backlight @ 5, it ran over 14.5 hours before I shut it down and recharged.
The battery gauge, for what it’s worth with lithium batteries was reading 82%.